Top 5 takeaways from Week 2 of the PWHL season: Offense and injuries

Happy holidays, everyone! We’re now two weeks into the 2024-25 PWHL season, which is really the third week on the calendar, but it was my understanding that there would be no math. 

Either way, let’s look at the (official) second week of the season and how the league’s six teams are shaping up as we head into the holidays.

Goals, goals, goals!

Looking back at the league’s inaugural season, there was a running joke that nearly every game ended with a 3-2 final — go ahead, look it up, nine of the first 17 games on the schedule were 3-2 results. Players were still getting used to the style of play: a smaller ice rink than the international game, more physical, tighter areas to maneuver in. Don’t forget, having six teams in the world’s best league meant you were going to face one of the best goaltenders in the world on any given night.

Last season, only two players – Natalie Spooner and Marie-Philip Pouin – finished averaged more than a point per game. This season, 10 players are at least averaging a point per game. Seven players have at least three goals and are on pace to score 18 by the end of the year. Just one player, Spooner, scored more than 11. 

I know, we’re just five games into the season, and each team will play six more games than last year, so the numbers would have been higher, regardless. But even just a few weeks into the league’s second season, there’s an increase in chances taken, and teams are focusing more on pushing the puck north instead of protecting it from going south. Spooner scoring 20 goals last season was special, but a league where a handful of players finished with 30 or more points would be great for the league. 

Injuries, injuries, injuries!

Just off the top of my head: Sophie Jaques, Alina Muller, Jill Saulnier and Alexa Vasko, four top-quality players who are out of the lineup with injuries just a few weeks into the season with injuries. Throw in Natalie Spooner and Megan Carter, neither of whom have even played in 2024-25, and there’s a total of six players on long-term injured reserve (LTIR). 

Some of it may be flukes, a muscle tweak or a blade getting caught in the ice or just falling the wrong way. But the league’s willingness to commit to a physical game has players learning to adapt, with some learning faster than others. 

If you could take any positives from these injuries, it’s that it’s opened the door for some players to step in and make the most of an opportunity. The Frost signed defender Charlotte Akervik one Jaques went on LTIR, and Taylor House signed a deal with Ottawa once Vasko was shelved. When the league eventually expands and adds 20, 40 or more jobs with each team, these players will get full-time opportunities. Until then, players will have to keep an eye on the news wire. 

Frost, Thompson continue to dominate

After losing an overtime heartbreaker to the New York Sirens in the first game of the season, the Minnesota Frost have looked as good as ever, winning four straight that included two this week against the Ottawa Charge and Sirens. Three of the league’s top five point producers are on the Frost, including defender Claire Thompson, who’s tied for the most points in the league with seven (one goal, six assists). 

Thompson, one of my colleague Tyler Kuehl’s three stars this week, was taken No. 3 overall in the 2024 PWHL Draft. As Kuehl mentioned, some wondered what her condition would be going into the season, and if there would be an acclimation period once she stepped onto the ice. But so far, there’s a case to be made that she’s already one of the best players in the league. 

Thompson has recorded at least a point in all but one of her games so far, and her performance last Thursday against the Charge was one of the best I can remember. Finishing with a goal and three assists, her 22:55 of ice time led all skaters, and beyond the offense, she was strong in her own end, protecting the net and leading the charge on breakouts. There was a handful of instances through the game where I laughed at loud at good a pass or how smart a play she would make. 

The rich get richer, and Thompson joining the league’s defending champions might be the best example of that. 

Too early to panic in Toronto, but…

The Sceptres are now 1-3-1 through their first five games, but they’ve only really had one game get away from them, their 6-3 loss to the Frost Dec. 7. I’ve said this a lot already, but it’s early, and it takes a bit longer for some teams to find their footing. No one wants to rely on excuses, but not having last season’s MVP in Spooner doesn’t help, and neither does their second-round pick in Carter being out. 

Look back to last season, the team was 1-4-0 in their first five games and looked slow, unable to generate anything offensively or stop anything in their own end. Before you know it, they won 11 straight and finished the season in first place. 

Sarah Nurse is off to a hot start with three goals and four points, and the likes of Hannah Miller, Jesse Compher and Izzy Daniel are finding their groove up front. The results aren’t there, but this team is still loaded with talent and a fully healthy Sceptres group will make an impact later in the year. 

Strong attendance 

Just a few weeks into the season, we’ve got some early results for how league attendance has done, courtesy of Reddit user District4Lowell. Through 14 games, the total number of attendees is 85,837, an average of more than 6,100 per game.

The Sceptres’ new home rink, Coca-Cola Coliseum, has a capacity of 8,140 and has seen at least 7,500 fans in each of their three home games.

The Victoire saw 10,033 fans show up for their home opener, but that number was cut nearly in half to 5,415 a week later, partly due to poor weather. 

The Charge saw more than 6,400 for their home opener at TD Place, then saw more than 11,000 fans show up when they played at the Canadian Tire Centre, home of the NHL’s Ottawa Senators. 

Some might raise an eyebrow at the Sirens failing to crack the 3,000-mark at the Prudential Center, home of the NHL’s New Jersey Devils, but considering they played at a number of different rinks in their first season, and now they have a full-time home, it’s going to take time before the team starts to see a consistent number of regular attendees.